Electrostatic discharge protection in integrated circuits

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are structures, devices, and methods for electrostatic discharge protection (ESDP) in integrated circuits (ICs). For example, in some embodiments, an IC package support may include: a first conductive structure in a dielectric material; a second conductive structure in the dielectric material; and a material in contact with the first conductive structure and the second conductive structure, wherein the material includes a polymer, and the material is different from the dielectric material. The material may act as a dielectric material below a trigger voltage, and as a conductive material above the trigger voltage.

BACKGROUND

At various stages in the manufacture of an integrated circuit (IC)device, the electronic components of the device may be at risk fordamage due to electrostatic discharge. Electrostatic forces mayaccumulate during manufacturing, handling, and testing, and discharge ofthese forces may cause permanent damage to sensitive circuits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitatethis description, like reference numerals designate like structuralelements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, not by way oflimitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1-6 are side, cross-sectional views of example integrated circuit(IC) structures including electrostatic discharge protection (ESDP)structures, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a side, cross-sectional view of an example IC package supportincluding ESDP structures, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 8-12 are side, cross-sectional views of example IC assembliesincluding ESDP structures, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 13-30 illustrate example ESDP structures, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIGS. 31-35 illustrate stages in an example process of manufacturing theESDP structure of FIG. 13, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 36-40 illustrate stages in an example process of manufacturing theESDP structure of FIG. 26, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 41 is a top view of a wafer and dies that may include ICstructures, in accordance with any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 42 is a side, cross-sectional view of an IC device assembly thatmay include IC structures, IC assemblies, IC package supports, and/orESDP structures, in accordance with any of the embodiments disclosedherein.

FIG. 43 is a block diagram of an example electrical device that mayinclude IC structures, IC assemblies, IC package supports, and/or ESDPstructures, in accordance with any of the embodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein are structures, devices, and methods for electrostaticdischarge protection (ESDP) in integrated circuits (ICs). In someembodiments, an IC package support may include: a first conductivestructure in a dielectric material; a second conductive structure in thedielectric material; and a material in contact with the first conductivestructure and the second conductive structure, wherein the materialincludes a polymer, and the material is different from the dielectricmaterial. The material may act as a dielectric material below a triggervoltage, and as a conductive material above the trigger voltage.

Conventionally, IC devices have been protected from electrostaticdischarge by diodes or other active devices included in the device layerof a die. These diodes or other devices have been electrically coupledbetween exposed locations of the die (e.g., exposed conductive contacts,such as first-level interconnect (FLI) solder bumps) and a ground (e.g.,the bulk semiconductor upon which device layers are conventionallyfabricated). Such diodes or devices may be designed such that they actas a low resistance to ground (or to the supply rail) at a voltage thatis just below the voltage threshold at which the functional devices onthe die (e.g., the transistors) may be damaged. When a voltage in theexpected operational voltage range is applied at the exposed locations,the diodes or devices may act as a capacitor between the exposedlocation and ground, and any signal received at the exposed locationwill be transmitted to the functional devices as expected. When anexternal voltage greater than or equal to this value is applied at theexposed locations, the diodes or devices will act as a low resistance,shunting the high voltage input to ground (or to the supply rail) andshielding the functional devices.

Continued use of this conventional approach to ESDP, however, becomesmore difficult as the size of IC devices continues to shrink. Suchon-die diodes or other devices may have a large footprint, requiring asignificant portion of the valuable “real estate” of the underlyingsemiconductor material or other substrate. Such devices also may inducecapacitive loading and consume leakage power during normal deviceoperation, undesirably increasing the power consumption of such devicesand limiting the frequencies at which the devices can operate. Further,conventional diode arrangements may relay on the presence of a bulksemiconductor to serve as the ground, and thus cannot be readily appliedin silicon-on-insulator (SOI) or thinned substrate devices.

The ESDP structures and techniques disclosed herein may protect ICdevices from electrostatic discharge without occupying expensive on-diereal estate and/or without substantially impacting high frequencyperformance. Further, the ESDP structures and techniques disclosedherein may be readily customized to provide the kind of ESDP that ismost advantageous at each of the different structural levels of anelectronic device (e.g., with protection against smaller voltages at thedie-level, and against greater voltages at the package- or circuitboard-level).

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof wherein like numeralsdesignate like parts throughout, and in which is shown, by way ofillustration, embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be understoodthat other embodiments may be utilized, and structural or logicalchanges may be made, without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to betaken in a limiting sense.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions oroperations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understandingthe claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should notbe construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily orderdependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in theorder of presentation. Operations described may be performed in adifferent order from the described embodiment. Various additionaloperations may be performed, and/or described operations may be omittedin additional embodiments.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A and/or B”means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the presentdisclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B),(A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C). The drawings are not necessarilyto scale. Although many of the drawings illustrate rectilinearstructures with flat walls and right-angle corners, this is simply forease of illustration, and actual devices made using these techniqueswill exhibit rounded corners, surface roughness, and other features.

The description uses the phrases “in an embodiment” or “in embodiments,”which may each refer to one or more of the same or differentembodiments. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,”and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, are synonymous. As used herein, a “package” and an “ICpackage” are synonymous. When used to describe a range of dimensions,the phrase “between X and Y” represents a range that includes X and Y.

FIGS. 1-6 are side, cross-sectional views of example IC structures 100including ESDP structures 107, in accordance with various embodiments.Although FIGS. 1-6 depict a particular number and arrangement of ESDPstructures 107 in various IC structures 100, these numbers andarrangements are simply illustrative, and any of the IC structures 100of FIGS. 1-6 may include any desired number and arrangement of ESDPstructures 107. Further, the ESDP structures 107 included in an ICstructure 100 (or in an IC package support 168, as discussed furtherbelow) may take any suitable form (e.g., any of the firms discussedbelow with reference to FIGS. 13-30).

In some embodiments, an IC structure 100 may include a die 101 withredistribution layers (RDLs) 108. A die 101 may include a substrate 102,and may, in some embodiments, include one or more device layers 106and/or one or more interconnect layers 120. For example, in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the die 101 includes a device layer106 proximate to one face (e.g., the “frontside”) of the substrate 102,interconnect layers 120-1 proximate to that same face of the substrate102 (such that the device layer 106 is between the interconnect layers120-1 and the substrate 102), and RDLs 108 on the interconnect layers120-1 (such that the interconnect layers 120-1 are between the RDLs 108and the device layer 106). Further, in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1, the die 101 includes interconnect layers 120-2 proximate to theopposite face (e.g., the “backside”) of the substrate 102 as theinterconnect layers 120-1. In other embodiments, the device layer(s) 106and/or the interconnect layer(s) 120 may be omitted; for example, FIGS.3-5 illustrate IC structures 100 in which no device layer 106 ispresent, and FIGS. 4-5 illustrate IC structures 100 in which nointerconnect layers 120 are present. In some embodiments, an ICstructure 100 may include one or more device layers 106 and one or morefrontside interconnect layers 120 without including any backsideinterconnect layers 120 (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 2-6). Someembodiments (not illustrated) of the IC structure 100 may include nodevice layers 106 but may include one or more frontside interconnectlayers 120 and/or one or more backside interconnect layers 120. Moregenerally, a die 101 including any desired combination of devicelayer(s) 106 and frontside and/or backside interconnect layers 120 maybe used in an IC structure 100.

The substrate 102 may include any suitable material (e.g., an inorganicmaterial). In some embodiments, the substrate 102 may be a semiconductorsubstrate composed of semiconductor material systems including, forexample, n-type or p-type materials systems (or a combination of both).The substrate 102 may include, for example, a crystalline substrateformed using a bulk silicon or a SOI substructure. In some embodiments,the substrate 102 may be formed using alternative materials, which mayor may not be combined with silicon, that include but are not limited togermanium, indium antimonide, lead telluride, indium arsenide, indiumphosphide, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, or gallium antimonide.Further materials classified as group II-VI, III-V, or IV may also beincluded in the substrate 102. In some embodiments, the substrate 102may include glass, diamond, sapphire, or a ceramic material. In RFapplications, as discussed further below, the substrate 102 mayadvantageously include glass or silicon. As discussed further below, thesubstrate 102 may be part of a singulated die (e.g., the dies 1502 ofFIG. 41) or a wafer (e.g., the wafer 1500 of FIG. 41).

Through-substrate vias (TSVs) 104 may extend through the substrate 102,providing electrical pathways across the substrate 102. The TSVs 104 mayinclude an electrically conductive material (e.g., a metal) and may makecontact with electrically conductive structures at opposite faces of thesubstrate 102. In some embodiments, no TSVs 104 may be present (e.g., asdiscussed below with reference to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6).

When present in a die 101, a device layer 106 may include one or moretransistors (e.g., metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors(MOSFETs)), one or more diodes (e.g., for ESDP, as discussed above), orother suitable devices. For example, a device layer 106 may includetransistors having source and/or drain (S/D) regions, a gate to controlcurrent flow in the transistors between the S/D regions, and one or moreS/D contacts to route electrical signals to/from the S/D regions. Thetransistors may further include additional features, such as deviceisolation regions, gate contacts, and the like. The transistors in adevice layer 106 may include any desired type of transistors, such asplanar transistors, non-planar transistors, or a combination of both.Planar transistors may include bipolar junction transistors (BJT),heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT), or high-electron-mobilitytransistors (HEMT). Non-planar transistors may include FinFETtransistors, such as double-gate transistors or tri-gate transistors,and wrap-around or all-around gate transistors, such as nanoribbon andnanowire transistors.

The gate of a transistor in a device layer 106 may include at least twolayers: a gate dielectric and a gate electrode. The gate dielectric mayinclude one layer or a stack of layers. The one or more layers mayinclude silicon oxide, silicon dioxide, silicon carbide, and/or a high-kdielectric material. The high-k dielectric material may include elementssuch as hafnium, silicon, oxygen, titanium, tantalum, lanthanum,aluminum, zirconium, barium, strontium, yttrium, lead, scandium,niobium, and zinc. Examples of high-k materials that may be used in thegate dielectric include, but are not limited to, hafnium oxide, hafniumsilicon oxide, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum aluminum oxide, zirconiumoxide, zirconium silicon oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, bariumstrontium titanium oxide, barium titanium oxide, strontium titaniumoxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, andlead zinc niobate. In some embodiments, an annealing process may becarried out on the gate dielectric to improve its quality when a high-kmaterial is used.

The gate electrode may be formed on the gate dielectric and may includeat least one p-type work function metal or n-type work function metal,depending on whether the transistor is to be a p-type metal oxidesemiconductor (PMOS) or an n-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS)transistor. In some implementations, the gate electrode may consist of astack of two or more metal layers, where one or more metal layers arework function metal layers and at least one metal layer is a fill metallayer. Further metal layers may be included for other purposes, such asa barrier layer. For a PMOS transistor, metals that may be used for thegate electrode include, but are not limited to, ruthenium, palladium,platinum, cobalt, nickel, conductive metal oxides (e.g., rutheniumoxide), and any of the metals discussed below with reference to an NMOStransistor (e.g., for work function tuning). For an NMOS transistor,metals that may be used for the gate electrode include, but are notlimited to, hafnium, zirconium, titanium, tantalum, aluminum, alloys ofthese metals, carbides of these metals (e.g., hafnium carbide, zirconiumcarbide, titanium carbide, tantalum carbide, and aluminum carbide), andany of the metals discussed above with reference to a PMOS transistor(e.g., for work function tuning).

In some embodiments, when viewed as a cross-section of the transistoralong the source-channel-drain direction, the gate electrode may consistof a U-shaped structure that includes a bottom portion substantiallyparallel to the surface of the substrate and two sidewall portions thatare substantially perpendicular to the top surface of the substrate. Inother embodiments, at least one of the metal layers that form the gateelectrode may simply be a planar layer that is substantially parallel tothe top surface of the substrate and does not include sidewall portionssubstantially perpendicular to the top surface of the substrate. Inother embodiments, the gate electrode may consist of a combination ofU-shaped structures and planar, non-U-shaped structures. For example,the gate electrode may consist of one or more U-shaped metal layersformed atop one or more planar, non-U-shaped layers.

In some embodiments, a pair of sidewall spacers may be formed onopposing sides of the gate stack to bracket the gate stack. The sidewallspacers may be formed from materials such as silicon nitride, siliconoxide, silicon carbide, silicon nitride doped with carbon, and siliconoxynitride. Processes for forming sidewall spacers are well known in theart and generally include deposition and etching process steps. In someembodiments, a plurality of spacer pairs may be used; for instance, twopairs, three pairs, or four pairs of sidewall spacers may be formed onopposing sides of the gate stack.

The S/D regions may be proximate to the gate of each transistor. The S/Dregions may be formed using an implantation/diffusion process or anetching/deposition process, for example. In the former process, dopantssuch as boron, aluminum, antimony, phosphorous, or arsenic may beion-implanted into a substrate to form the S/D regions. An annealingprocess that activates the dopants and causes them to diffuse fartherinto the substrate may follow the ion-implantation process. In thelatter process, a substrate may first be etched to form recesses at thelocations of the S/D regions. An epitaxial deposition process may thenbe carried out to fill the recesses with material that is used tofabricate the S/D regions. In some implementations, the S/D regions maybe fabricated using a silicon alloy such as silicon germanium or siliconcarbide. In some embodiments, the epitaxially deposited silicon alloymay be doped in situ with dopants such as boron, arsenic, orphosphorous. In some embodiments, the S/D regions may be formed usingone or more alternate semiconductor materials such as germanium or agroup III-V material or alloy. In further embodiments, one or morelayers of metal and/or metal alloys may be used to form the S/D regions.

As noted above, in some embodiments, an IC structure 100 may includefrontside interconnect layers 120-1 and/or backside interconnect layers120-2. Electrical signals, such as power and/or input/output (I/O)signals, may be routed to and/or from the devices (e.g., the transistorsand/or diodes) of the device layer 106, or otherwise to and/or from thedie 101, through these interconnect layers 120. For example,electrically conductive features of the device layer 106 (e.g., gate andS/D contacts, or diode contacts) may be electrically coupled toelectrical pathways 124 through the interconnect layers 120. A set ofinterconnect layers 120 may also be referred to as a metallizationstack.

Conductive lines and/or vias may be arranged within the interconnectlayers 120 to route electrical signals along electrical pathways 124according to a wide variety of designs. In particular, the arrangementis not limited to the particular configuration of conductive lines andvias depicted in FIG. 1 or any of the other accompanying drawings.

Lines and vias in the interconnect layers 120 may include anelectrically conductive material such as a metal. The lines may bearranged to route electrical signals in a direction of a plane that issubstantially parallel with a surface of the substrate 102. For example,the lines may route electrical signals in a direction in and out of thepage from the perspective of FIG. 1. The vias may be arranged to routeelectrical signals in a direction of a plane that is substantiallyperpendicular to the surface of the substrate 102. In some embodiments,the vias may electrically couple lines of different interconnect layers120 together.

The interconnect layers 120 may include a dielectric material 122disposed between the lines and vias, as shown in FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the dielectric material 122 may be an inorganic dielectricmaterial, such as silicon oxide. In some embodiments, the dielectricmaterial 122 disposed between the lines and vias in different ones ofthe interconnect layers 120 may have different compositions (e.g., maybe different inorganic dielectric materials); in other embodiments, thecomposition of the dielectric material 122 of different interconnectlayers 120 may be the same.

Although the lines and the vias of the interconnect layers 120 arestructurally delineated with a line within each interconnect layer 120for the sake of clarity, the lines and the vias may be structurallyand/or materially contiguous (e.g., simultaneously filled during adual-damascene process) in some embodiments. In some embodiments, thethickness of the individual interconnect layers 120 may increase withthe distance from the substrate 102 (e.g., the frontside interconnectlayers 120-1 may increase in thickness closer to the front face 142, andthe backside interconnect layers 120-2 may increase in thickness closerto the back face 144).

RDLs 108 may be disposed at a face of the die 101. The RDLs 108 mayinclude a dielectric material 110 and electrical pathways 112 throughthe dielectric material 110; the electrical pathways 112 may includeconductive lines and/or vias embedded in the dielectric material 110,and vias may electrically couple lines in different ones of the RDLs108, as discussed above with reference to the interconnect layers 120.In some embodiments, the dielectric material 110 may be an organicdielectric material; examples of organic dielectric materials 110 mayinclude organic build-up films (e.g., including an organic matrix withan inorganic particle filler, such as silica-filled epoxides),polyimides with or without filler, benzocyclobutene polymers, orunfilled epoxides. Although a particular number of RDLs 108 (i.e.,three) is depicted in FIG. 1 and others of the accompanying drawings, anIC structure 100 may include any desired number of RDLs 108.

As noted above, the IC structures 100 may include one or more ESDPstructures 107 in the RDLs 108. An ESDP structure 107 may be a structurethat, during electrical operation of the IC structure 100, is to causean electrical short (i.e., a low or zero resistance path) between asignal pathway and a ground (or supply rail) pathway in response to avoltage between the signal pathway and the ground pathway that exceeds athreshold. Unlike a conventional fuse, this electrical short may bereversible, such that intended electrical operation of the IC structure100 (i.e., with the signal pathway not shorted to the ground pathway)may continue when the voltage seen at the signal pathway does not exceedthe threshold. The ESDP structures 107, then, may help protect sensitivesignal circuitry from large voltages that may otherwise render thesignal circuitry inoperative, and may permit continued operation whensuch large voltages are not present.

In some embodiments, an ESDP structure 107 may include a voltagesuppression material 109 (not shown in FIGS. 1-6). As used herein, a“voltage suppression material” may be a material that reversibly acts asan electrical insulator until a threshold electric field is appliedacross the material, at which point the material acts as an electricalconductor. This threshold electric field may be referred to herein asthe “trigger field,” and the voltage at which the field in the materialis higher than the trigger field may be referred to herein as the“trigger voltage.” The trigger voltage may depend on the thickness andother geometric properties of the voltage suppression material 109. Notethat the reversible switching behavior of a voltage suppressionmaterial, from electrical insulator to electrical conductor and back,may deviate from an “ideal” voltage-controlled switch, as understood inthe art. For example, the change in operation from an electricalinsulator to an electrical conductor may not occur instantaneously atthe trigger voltage, but instead, the trigger voltage may represent avoltage at which the resistance of the material decreases substantiallyfrom a nominal value. In some embodiments, the trigger voltage of anESDP structure 107 including a voltage suppression material 109 may bebetween 2 volts and 10 volts.

In some embodiments, the voltage suppression material 109 may be apolymer voltage suppression material. A polymer voltage suppressionmaterial 109 may include a polymer with one or more conductive fillerparticles; when the trigger voltage is reached, the arrangement of thepolymer matrix and the filler particles may substantially decrease theelectrical resistance of the voltage suppression material 109. Thematerial composition of a polymer voltage suppression material 109 maybe selected to achieve a desired trigger voltage. In other embodiments,other voltage suppression materials 109 may be used in an ESDP structure107. FIGS. 13-30 illustrate a variety of ESDP structures 107, includinga voltage suppression material 109, that may be included in any of theIC structures 100 and/or IC package supports 168 (discussed below)disclosed herein.

Returning to FIG. 1, the IC structure 100 may include a surfacedielectric material 116 (e.g., polyimide or similar material) and one ormore conductive contacts 115 on the RDLs 108. As used herein, a“conductive contact” may refer to a portion of conductive material(e.g., metal) serving as an interface between different components;conductive contacts may be recessed in, flush with, or extending awayfrom a surface of a component, and may take any suitable form (e.g., aconductive pad or socket). In FIG. 1, the conductive contacts 115 areillustrated as taking the form of bond pads. The conductive contacts 115may be electrically coupled with the electrical pathways 112 of the RDLs108 and may route the electrical signals of the device layer 106 and/orother electrical signals (e.g., electrical signals received at theconductive contacts 126) to other external devices. For example, solder118 may be deposited on the one or more conductive contacts 115 tomechanically and/or electrically couple the IC structure 100 withanother component at the front face 142 (e.g., another chip). The ICstructure 100 may include additional or alternate structures to routethe electrical signals to/from the RDLs 108; for example, the conductivecontacts 115 may include other analogous features (e.g., posts) thatroute the electrical signals to/from external components. In someembodiments, the surface dielectric material 116 may be photodefinable(and thus may be directly patterned).

In some embodiments, the IC structure 100 may include one or moreconductive contacts 126 on the back face 144 of the IC structure 100. Insome embodiments, a surface dielectric material (not shown) may also bepresent. In FIG. 1, the conductive contacts 126 are illustrated astaking the form of pillars (e.g., copper pillars). The conductivecontacts 126 may be electrically coupled with the electrical pathways124 of the backside interconnect layers 120-2 (when the backsideinterconnect layers 120-2 are present) or the TSVs 104 (when thebackside interconnect layers 120-2 are not present) and may route theelectrical signals of the device layer 106 and/or other electricalsignals (e.g., electrical signals received at the conductive contacts115) to other external devices. For example, solder bumps 118 may beformed on the one or more conductive contacts 126 to mechanically and/orelectrically couple the IC structure 100 with another component at theback face 144 (e.g., another chip). The IC structure 100 may includeadditional or alternate structures to route the electrical signalsto/from the back face 144; for example, the conductive contacts 126 mayinclude other analogous features (e.g., bond pads) that route theelectrical signals to/from external components.

As noted above, FIGS. 2-6 illustrate other example embodiments of the ICstructure 100. In FIG. 2, the IC structure 100 includes many of thefeatures of the IC structure 100 of FIG. 1, but does not include TSVs104, backside interconnect layers 120-2, or backside conductive contacts126. The IC structure 100 of FIG. 2 may thus be a “single-sided”structure (i.e., with conductive contacts at only one face of the ICstructure 100), while the IC structure 100 of FIG. 1 may be a“double-sided” structure (i.e., with conductive contacts at opposingfaces of the IC structure 100).

In the IC structures 100 of FIGS. 3-5, no device layer 106 may bepresent. For example, in FIG. 3, the IC structure 100 includes backsideconductive contacts 126 that are in electrical contact with the TSVs104, which are in electrical contact with the electrical pathways 124 offrontside interconnect layers 120. Some of the electrical pathways 124may also be in electrical contact with the electrical pathways 112 ofthe RDLs 108. The IC structure 100 of FIG. 4 is similar to that of FIG.3, but does not include interconnect layers 120; the backside conductivecontacts 126 are in electrical contact with the TSVs 104, which are inelectrical contact with the electrical pathways 112 of the RDLs 108.

The structure 100 of FIG. 5 is similar to that of FIG. 4, but does notinclude any TSVs 104 and does include a barrier material 136 between thesubstrate 102 and the RDLs 108. The barrier material 136 may be selectedto limit diffusion between the substrate 102 and the dielectric material110; for example, when the substrate 102 includes silicon, the barriermaterial 136 may include silicon nitride. An IC structure 100 like thatof FIG. 4 may be particularly advantageous as an interposer (e.g., anembedded interposer in an organic package substrate) between differentdies or other electronic components coupled to the front face 142.

FIG. 6 illustrates a “reconstituted die” embodiment of the IC structure100. In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates multiple dies 101 electricallycoupled by a set of RDLs 108 that span the multiple dies 101. Adielectric material 140 (e.g., a mold compound, silicon dioxide, spin-onglass, etc.) may be disposed laterally around the dies 101, allowing theIC structure 100 of FIG. 6 to be handled and managed as if it were asingle “die.”

The ESDP structures 107 disclosed herein may be included in an ICpackage support 168, instead of or in addition to being included in anIC structure 100. As used herein, an “IC package support” may refer to acomponent of an IC package that provides mechanical and/or electricalsupport to other IC devices in the IC package. Examples of IC packagesupports 168 may include package substrates, interposers, and/orbridges, examples of which are discussed below with reference to FIGS.8-12.

FIG. 7 is a side, cross-sectional view of an example IC package support168 including one or more ESDP structures 107. The IC package support168 may include interconnect layers 190 including a dielectric material194 and electrical pathways 192 through the dielectric material 194; theelectrical pathways 192 may include conductive lines and/or viasembedded in the dielectric material 194, and vias may electricallycouple lines in different ones of the interconnect layers 190, asdiscussed above with reference to the RDLs 108. In some embodiments, thedielectric material 194 may be an organic dielectric material; examplesof organic dielectric materials may include organic build-up films, orglass-reinforced epoxy laminate material (e.g., a woven fiberglass clothwith an epoxy resin binder). Although a particular number ofinterconnect layers 190 (i.e., three) is depicted in FIG. 7, an ICpackage support 168 may include any desired number of interconnectlayers 190. In some embodiments, an IC package support 168 may bemanufactured using conventional printed circuit board (PCB) techniques.In some embodiments, some or all of the vias and/or lines included inthe electrical pathways 192 may be manufactured using a lithographic viatechnique; for example, a lithographic via techniques may be used toform some of the elements of the ESDP structures 107 discussed belowwith reference to FIGS. 13-30.

An IC package support 168 may include a surface dielectric material 116(e.g., polyimide or similar material) and one or more conductivecontacts 184 and 186 at opposing faces 182 and 188, respectively. Insome embodiments, the conductive contacts 184 may be FLIs, and theconductive contacts 186 may be second-level interconnects (SLIs). Theconductive contacts 184 and 186 may be electrically coupled with theelectrical pathways 192 and may route electrical signals accordingly. Insome embodiments, solder 118 may be deposited on the one or moreconductive contacts 184 and 186 to mechanically and/or electricallycouple the IC package support 168 with other components (e.g., ICstructures 100, circuit boards, etc.).

One or more IC structures 100, and/or one or more IC package supports168, may be included in an IC assembly 150. FIGS. 8-12 illustratevarious examples of IC assemblies 150 including ESDP structures 107, butthese particular examples are not exhaustive, and any of the ICstructures 100 and/or the IC package supports 168 disclosed herein maybe combined with any other suitable components in any other suitablemanner to form an IC assembly 150. Although FIGS. 8-12 depict ESDPstructures 107 in each element of the IC assemblies 150, this is simplyan example, and ESDP structures 107 may be included in some but not allelements of the IC assembly 150. For example, in some embodiments, ESDPstructures 107 may be included in the IC structure 100-2 of the ICassembly 150 of FIG. 8, but not in the IC structure 100-1 (or viceversa). In another example, in some embodiments, ESDP structures 107 maybe included in the IC package support 168 of the IC assembly 150 of FIG.9, but not in the IC structure 100 (or vice versa). Further, any of theIC assemblies 150 of any of FIGS. 8-12 may be combined as desired toform further IC assemblies 150.

FIG. 8 illustrates an IC assembly 150 including a single-sided ICstructure 100-1 coupled to a double-sided IC structure 100-2 (e.g., bysolder). In some embodiments, the IC structure 100-1 of FIG. 8 may bethe IC structures 100 of FIG. 2, 5, or 6, and the IC structure 100-2 ofFIG. 8 may be the IC structures 100 of FIG. 1, 3, or 4. As noted above,in some embodiments, the IC structure 100-1 may include ESDP structures107 while the IC structure 100-2 does not include ESDP structures 107(or vice versa). In some embodiments, the IC structure 100-2 may bereferred to as an “interposer”; if the IC structure 100-2 includes adevice layer 106 (or otherwise includes active devices, such astransistors), the IC structure 100-2 may be referred to as an “activeinterposer,” and if the IC structure 100-2 does not include a devicelayer 106 (or otherwise does not include active devices), the ICstructure 100-2 may be referred to as a “passive interposer.” In someembodiments, an IC structure 100 that does not include any ESDPstructures 107 may instead include diodes for ESDP purposes, or may notinclude such diodes. Although FIG. 8 illustrates a single IC structure100-1 coupled to the IC structure 100-2, multiple IC structures 100-1may be coupled to the IC structure 100-2, as desired.

FIG. 9 illustrates an IC assembly 150 including a single-sided ICstructure 100 coupled to an IC package support 168 (e.g., by solder). Insome embodiments, the IC structure 100 of FIG. 9 may be the ICstructures 100 of FIG. 2, 5, or 6; in other embodiments, the ICstructure 100 of the IC assembly 150 of FIG. 9 may be a double-sided ICstructure 100-1 (e.g., the IC structure 100 of FIG. 1, 3, or 4) andfurther IC structures (not shown) may be coupled “on top” of the ICstructure 100. As noted above, in some embodiments, the IC structure 100may include ESDP structures 107 while the IC package support 168 doesnot include ESDP structures 107 (or vice versa). In some embodiments,the IC package support 168 of FIG. 9 may be referred to as a “packagesubstrate,” and the IC assembly 150 may be referred to as an “ICpackage” and may in turn be coupled to a circuit board or othercomponent. In some embodiments, the IC package support 168 of FIG. 9 maybe an interposer between the IC structure 100 and another component(e.g., an IC structure 100 or an IC package support 168). Although FIG.9 illustrates a single IC structure 100 coupled to the IC packagesupport 168, multiple IC structures 100 may be coupled to the IC packagesupport 168, as desired.

FIG. 10 illustrates an IC assembly 150 including single-sided ICstructures 100-1 coupled to a double-sided IC structure 100-2 (e.g., bysolder). The double-sided IC structure 100-2 is also coupled to an ICpackage support 168 (e.g., by solder). In some embodiments, the ICstructures 100-1 of FIG. 10 may be the IC structures 100 of FIG. 2, 5,or 6; in other embodiments, the IC structures 100-1 of the IC assembly150 of FIG. 10 may be double-sided IC structures 100-1 (e.g., the ICstructure 100 of FIG. 1, 3, or 4) and further IC structures (not shown)may be coupled “on top” of the IC structures 100-1. In some embodiments,the IC structure 100-2 may be the IC structures 100 of FIG. 1, 3, or 4.As noted above, in some embodiments, one or more of the IC structures100 may include ESDP structures 107 while the IC package support 168does not include ESDP structures 107 (or vice versa). In someembodiments, the IC structure 100-2 of FIG. 10 may be referred to as aninterposer (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIG. 8), whilethe IC package support 168 may be referred to as a package substrate. Insome embodiments, the IC assembly 150 may include an IC package support168 in the place of the IC structure 100-2, instead of the IC structure100-2.

FIG. 11 illustrates an IC assembly 150 including single-sided ICstructures 100-1 coupled to another single-sided IC structure 100-1(e.g., by solder) and also to an IC package support 168 (e.g., bysolder). In the IC assembly 150 of FIG. 11, the IC structure 100-2 maybe referred to as a “bridge” (e.g., an “embedded bridge” due to thedisposition of the IC structure 100-2 in a cavity of the IC packagesupport 168). In some embodiments, the IC structures 100 of FIG. 11 maybe the IC structures 100 of FIG. 2, 5, or 6. As noted above, in someembodiments, one or more of the IC structures 100 may include ESDPstructures 107 while the IC package support 168 does not include ESDPstructures 107 (or vice versa).

FIG. 12 illustrates an IC assembly 150 similar to the IC assembly 150 ofFIG. 11 but in which the IC structure 100-2 is a double-sided ICstructure (e.g., the IC structure 100 of FIG. 1, 3, or 4) and is alsocoupled to the IC package support 168 (e.g., by solder). In such anarrangement, the IC structure 100-2 may be a double-sided bridge.

FIGS. 13-30 illustrate example ESDP structures 107 including voltagesuppression material 109, in accordance with various embodiments. TheESDP structures 107 of FIGS. 13-30 may be included in any of the ICstructures 100 (e.g., in the RDLs 108) or in the IC package supports 168disclosed herein. Any of the features discussed with reference to any ofFIGS. 13-30 may be combined with any other features to form a ESDPstructure 107. For example, as discussed further below, FIG. 13illustrates an embodiment in which a layer of voltage suppressionmaterial 109 surrounds the conductive lines 103 and conductive vias 105in an interconnect layer, and FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment in whicha conductive line 103-2 surrounds a conductive line 103-1. Thesefeatures of FIGS. 13 and 19 may be combined so that an ESDP structure107 has a layer of voltage suppression material 109 that surrounds theconductive lines 103 and conductive vias 105 in an interconnect layer,and in which a conductive line 103-2 surrounds a conductive line 103-1.This particular combination is simply an example, and any combinationmay be used.

The ESDP structures 107 of FIGS. 13-30 are discussed with reference toconductive structures 197; when the ESDP structure 107 is included in anIC structure 100, the conductive structures 197 may be parts ofelectrical pathways 112, and when the ESDP structure 107 is included inan IC package support 168, the conductive structures 197 may be parts ofelectrical pathways 192. The conductive structures 197 may includeconductive contacts 199; when the ESDP structure 107 is included in anIC structure 100, the conductive contacts 199 may be the conductivecontacts 115, and when the ESDP structure 107 is included in an ICpackage support 168, the conductive contacts 199 may be the conductivecontacts 184 or the conductive contacts 186. Further, the particularconductive structures 197 depicted in FIGS. 13-30 are simplyillustrative, and conductive structures 197 that are part of an ESDPstructure 107 may have any suitable form. The ESDP structures 107 ofFIGS. 13-30 are also discussed with reference to a dielectric material198; when the ESDP structure 107 is included in an IC structure 100, thedielectric material 198 may be the dielectric material 110, and when theESDP structure 107 is included in an IC package support 168, thedielectric material 198 may be the dielectric material 194.

FIG. 13 is a side, cross-sectional view of an example ESDP structure107, while FIG. 14 is a top, cross-sectional view of the same ESDPstructure 107. The ESDP structure 107 of FIGS. 13-14 includes aconductive structure 197-1 including a conductive contact 199-1, aconductive via 105-1, and a conductive line 103-1 (e.g., a conductivepad). The ESDP structure 107 of FIGS. 13-14 also includes a conductivestructure 197-2 including a conductive contact 199-2, a via 105-2, and aconductive line 103-2. In the ESDP structure 107 of FIGS. 13-14 (and inFIGS. 15-30), one of the conductive structures 197 (i.e., the conductivestructure 197-1 or the conductive structure 197-2) is to operate as aground pathway while the other of the conductive structures 197 is tooperate as a signal pathway. For ease of discussion, the conductivestructures 197-1 may be referred to as “ground” while the conductivestructures 197-2 may be referred to as “signal,” but the roles of theseconductive structures 197 may be reversed as desired.

In the ESDP structure 107 of FIGS. 13-14, the conductive lines 103 ofthe conductive structures 197 are coplanar (e.g., may be included in asame interconnect layer). As shown, a voltage suppression material 109may surround the conductive lines 103 and conductive vias 105 of theconductive structures 197. In such an embodiment, the voltagesuppression material 109 may take the place of a layer of dielectricmaterial in which the lines 103 and conductive vias 105 would bedisposed. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the conductive line 103-2 may bepatterned so as to partially surround the conductive line 103-1, withthe voltage suppression material 109 at least partially between theconductive line 103-1 and the conductive line 103-2. During operation ofthe component including the ESDP structure 107 of FIGS. 13-14, if thevoltage between the signal conductive structure 197-2 and the groundconductive structure 197-1 exceeds the trigger voltage of the voltagesuppression material 109, the voltage suppression material 109 may beginto act as a conductor, shorting the signal conductive structure 197-2 tothe ground conductive structure 197-1 via the voltage suppressionmaterial 109.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are side and top cross-sectional views, respectively, ofanother example ESDP structure 107. The ESDP structure 107 of FIGS.15-16 is similar to that of FIGS. 13-14, but the location of the voltagesuppression material 109 in the embodiment of FIGS. 15-16 is restrictedto the plane of the conductive lines 103 and thus the voltagesuppression material 109 does not laterally surround the conductive vias105, for example. Instead, another dielectric material 198 may bedisposed above the conductive lines 103 and the voltage suppressionmaterial 109, and may laterally surround the conductive vias 105. Theembodiment of FIGS. 15-16 may require less voltage suppression material109 than the embodiment of FIGS. 13-14, but may require two separatedeposition operations (i.e., the deposition of the voltage suppressionmaterial 109 and the deposition of the dielectric material 198).

FIGS. 17 and 18 are side and top cross-sectional views, respectively, ofanother example ESDP structure 107. The ESDP structure 107 of FIGS.17-18 is similar to that of FIGS. 13-14 and 15-16, but the location ofthe voltage suppression material 109 in the embodiment of FIGS. 17-18 isrestricted to a particular region between the conductive lines 103 ofthe conductive structures 197-1 and 197-2, as shown. The embodiment ofFIGS. 17-18 may require less voltage suppression material 109 in theembodiment of FIGS. 15-16, but may require a more complex patterning ofthe voltage suppression material 109 than the embodiments of FIGS. 13-14and FIGS. 15-16.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 13-18, a portion of the conductive structure197-2 is shown as partially surrounding a portion of the conductivestructure 197-1. In other embodiments, a portion of the conductivestructure 197-2 may entirely surround a portion of the conductivestructure 197-1. For example, FIG. 19 is a top, cross-sectional view ofan ESDP structure 107 in which the conductive line 103-2 of a conductivestructure 197-2 is patterned so as to surround the conductive line103-one of the conductive structure 197-1. In the embodiment of FIG. 19,the voltage suppression material 109 may be restricted to the areabetween the conductive lines 103-1 and 103-2, but this is simplyillustrative.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 13-19, the conductive line 103-1 has beenshown as having a circular footprint, but the conductive line 103-1 mayhave any suitable footprint. For example, FIG. 20 is a top,cross-sectional view of an ESDP structure 107 in which the conductiveline 103-1 has a rectangular footprint, with a substantially straightface facing a similarly straight face of the conductive line 103-2. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 20, the voltage suppression material 109 may berestricted to the area between these faces, but this is simplyillustrative. In some other embodiments, not shown, the voltagesuppression material 109 may be disposed at the surface of an ICstructure 100 or IC package support 168, in direct contact with a groundconductive contact 199-1 and a signal conductive contact 199-2; such anembodiment may be useful in settings where the conductive contacts 199are spaced apart at a fine enough pitch to permit triggering the voltagesuppression material 109 at the desired voltage.

In some embodiments, the distance between the conductive structure 197-1and the conductive structure 197-2 may be less in a region of thevoltage suppression material 109 than outside a region of the voltagesuppression material 109. Such a “narrowing” may allow a localizedincrease in the electric field during operation, reducing the triggervoltage relative to embodiments in which no such narrowing is present,and may also reduce any parasitic capacitance arising from the use ofthe voltage suppression material 109 (and thereby reduce potentialdisruptions to high frequency signals). For example, FIG. 21 is a top,cross-sectional view of an ESDP structure 107 in which the conductiveline 103-2 includes a protrusion that extends toward the conductive line103-1 in the region of the voltage suppression material 109. Theprotrusion may result in a narrowing of the distance between theconductive structures 197 to achieve desired trigger behavior of theESDP 107. Although the protrusion has a particular shape in FIG. 20,this is simply illustrative, and any suitable shape may be used.

In some embodiments, a signal pathway may be located proximate to oneground pathway (e.g., a microstrip line) or between two ground pathways(e.g., in a coplanar waveguide or dual coplanar waveguide arrangement).In such embodiments, voltage suppression material 109 may be locatedbetween the signal pathway and one of the ground pathways, or betweenthe signal pathway and both of the ground pathways. For example, FIG. 22is a top, cross-sectional view of an ESDP structure 107 having voltagesuppression material 109 between a signal conductive line 103-2 (part ofa signal conductive structure 197-2) and a parallel ground conductiveline 103-1 (part of a ground conductive structure 197-1). No voltagesuppression material 109 may be present between the signal conductiveline 103-2 and another parallel ground conductive line 103-1 (part of aground conductive structure 197-1), as shown. Protrusions or othergeometric arrangements that selectively narrow the distance betweenconductive structures 197 in a region of the voltage suppressionmaterial 109 may also be used, as shown. For example, FIG. 23 is a top,cross-sectional view of an ESDP structure 107 having voltage suppressionmaterial 109 between a signal conductive line 103-2 (part of a signalconductive structure 197-2) and both parallel ground conductive lines103-1 (part of a ground conductive structure 197-1). Further, the signalconductive line 103-2 may include protrusions toward both of the groundconductive lines 103-1 in the regions of the voltage suppressionmaterial 109 (e.g., to achieve desired trigger behavior or to supporthigher protection current).

In the embodiments of FIGS. 13-22, the conductive lines 103 and thevoltage suppression material 109 have been at least partially coplanar.In other embodiments, the conductive lines 103 and the voltagesuppression material 109 may not be coplanar. For example, FIG. 24 is aside, cross-sectional view of an ESDP structure 107 in which theconductive lines 103-1 and 103-2 are coplanar, but the voltagesuppression material 109 is not coplanar with the conductive lines 103-1and 103-2 (and instead contacts the conductive lines 103 at their “top”surfaces). Any suitable arrangement in which the voltage suppressionmaterial 109 is in contact with the conductive structures 197-1 and197-2 may be used.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 13-23, the conductive lines 103-1 and 103-2of the conductive structures 197-1 and 197-2, respectively, have beencoplanar. In other embodiments, the conductive lines 103-1 and 103-2 ofthe conductive structures 197-1 and 197-2, respectively, may not becoplanar. For example, FIG. 25 is a side, cross-sectional view of anESDP structure 107 in which the conductive line 103-1 of the conductivestructure 197-1 is non-coplanar (e.g., in a different interconnectlayer) with the conductive line 103-2 of the conductive structure 197-2.The voltage suppression material 109 may be in contact with theconductive lines 103-2 and 103-1, as shown.

Just as a conductive structure 197 may include one or more protrusionsin a region of the voltage suppression material 109 to narrow thedistance to another conductive structure 197 when the conductivestructures 197 are coplanar (e.g., in a same interconnect layer), one ormore conductive structures 197 may include such protrusions when theconductive structures 197 are non-coplanar (e.g., in differentinterconnect layers). For example, FIG. 26 is a side, cross-sectionalview of an ESDP structure 107 in which the conductive line 103-2includes a bend that provides a protrusion that extends toward theconductive line 103-1 in the region of the voltage suppression material109. The protrusion may result in a narrowing of the distance betweenthe conductive structures 197 to achieve desired trigger behavior of theESDP 107. Although the protrusion has a particular shape in FIG. 26,this is simply illustrative, and any suitable shape may be used. Forexample, FIG. 27 is a side, cross-sectional view of an ESDP structure107 in which the conductive line 103-1 includes a protrusion thatextends toward the conductive line 103-2 in the region of the voltagesuppression material 109. Any arrangement of protrusions or othergeometric features in either or both of the conductive structures 197 ina region of the voltage suppression material 109 may be used.

In some embodiments, a conductive structure 197 may be narrowed in aregion of the voltage suppression material 109 to amplify the electricfields in the region and thus achieve desired trigger behavior. Forexample, FIG. 28 is a top view illustrating a narrowed portion of aconductive line 103-2 (part of a conductive structure 197-2) over aportion of the voltage suppression material 109. A conductive line 103-1(not shown, part of a conductive structure 197-1) may be disposed underthe voltage suppression material 109 so that the conductive lines 103-1and 103-2 are non-coplanar. The embodiments of FIGS. 24-28 may beparticularly advantageous in a microstrip line or stripline arrangement.

In some embodiments, a single continuous portion of voltage suppressionmaterial 109 may be used as part of multiple ESDP structures 107. Forexample, FIG. 29 is a top, cross-sectional view of three ESDP structures107, each including a conductive line 103-1 (part of a conductivestructure 197-1) and a conductive line 103-2 (part of a conductivestructure 197-2) with voltage suppression material 109 therebetween. Asingle “trench” of voltage suppression material 109 may be part of eachof the three ESDP structures 107. In some embodiments, the longitudinalaxis of the trench of voltage suppression material 109 may beperpendicular to the conductive lines 103 of the ESDP structures 107.Similarly, FIG. 30 is a top view of three ESDP structures 107, eachincluding a conductive line 103-2 (part of a conductive structure 197-2)over a “common” portion of voltage suppression material 109.Corresponding conductive lines 103-2 (not shown, part of a conductivestructure 197-2) may be located under the voltage suppression material109, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 28.

The ESDP structures 107 may be manufactured using any appropriatetechniques. For example, FIGS. 31-35 illustrate stages in an exampleprocess of manufacturing the ESDP structure 107 of FIG. 13, inaccordance with various embodiments. Although the operations of theprocess of FIGS. 31-35 are illustrated with reference to particularembodiments of the ESDP structures 107 disclosed herein, the process maybe used to form any suitable ESDP structures 107. Operations areillustrated once each and in a particular order in FIGS. 31-35, but theoperations may be reordered and/or repeated as desired (e.g., withdifferent operations performed in parallel when manufacturing multipleelectronic components simultaneously).

FIG. 31 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 202 including abase structure 200. The base structure 200 may be any structure on whichthe ESDP structure 107 is to be fabricated. For example, the basestructure 200 may be a portion of an IC structure 100 or a portion of anIC package support 168.

FIG. 32 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 204 subsequent toforming conductive lines 103-1 and 103-2 on the base structure 200 ofthe assembly 202 (FIG. 31). The conductive lines 103-1 and 103-2 may beformed using any suitable technique, such as a lithography technique.

FIG. 33 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 206 subsequent todepositing a voltage suppression material 109 on the conductive lines103-1 and 103-2 of the assembly 204 (FIG. 32). The voltage suppressionmaterial 109 may be deposited using any suitable technique, such aslamination or spin coating. In embodiments in which the voltagesuppression material 109 is to be confined to the plane of theconductive lines 103, a thinner layer of voltage suppression material109 may be used or the voltage suppression material 109 may be depositedbefore the conductive lines 103 and then patterned to accommodate theconductive lines 103.

FIG. 34 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 208 subsequent toforming openings in the voltage suppression material 109 of the assembly206 (FIG. 33) to expose portions of the top surfaces of the conductivelines 103. As discussed below, these openings may correspond to thelocations of conductive vias 105. In some embodiments, the openings maybe formed by laser drilling or patterned etch. The operations of theassembly 208 may also include selectively removing portions of thevoltage suppression material 109 in areas in which its presence is notrequired or desired, in some embodiments.

FIG. 35 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 210 subsequent toforming conductive vias 105 in the openings of the assembly 208 (FIG.34) and forming conductive contacts 199 in contact with the conductivevias 105. In some embodiments, the conductive vias 105 and conductivecontacts 199 may be formed by an electroplating process. The resultingassembly 210 may take the form of the ESDP structure 107 of FIG. 13.

FIGS. 36-40 illustrate stages in an example process of manufacturing theESDP structure 107 of FIG. 26, in accordance with various embodiments.Although the operations of the process of FIGS. 36-40 are illustratedwith reference to particular embodiments of the ESDP structures 107disclosed herein, the process may be used to form any suitable ESDPstructures 107. Operations are illustrated once each and in a particularorder in FIGS. 36-40, but the operations may be reordered and/orrepeated as desired (e.g., with different operations performed inparallel when manufacturing multiple electronic componentssimultaneously).

FIG. 36 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 222 including abase structure 220 on which a conductive line 103-1 and a conductive via105-1 have been formed. The base structure 220 may be any structure onwhich the ESDP structure 107 is to be fabricated. For example, the basestructure 220 may be a portion of an IC structure 100 or a portion of anIC package support 168. A dielectric material 198 (e.g., a single layerof dielectric material 198) may be disposed around the conductive line103-1 and the conductive via 105-1.

FIG. 37 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 224 subsequent toremoving a portion of the dielectric material 198 above the conductiveline 103-1 in the assembly 222 (FIG. 36) and depositing voltagesuppression material 109 in its place, in contact with the conductiveline 103-1. As shown, the thickness of the voltage suppression material109 in the assembly 224 may be the same as the height of the conductivevia 105-1. In some embodiments, the dielectric material 198 may beremoved by using a mask and reactive ion etching (RIE), by chemicalablation, by laser ablation, or any other suitable technique. In someembodiments, the voltage suppression material 109 may be deposited bystencil/screen printing and curing, or by a lamination and grindingtechnique.

FIG. 38 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 226 subsequent toforming a recess in the voltage suppression material 109 of the assembly224 (FIG. 37). The recess may cause a portion of the voltage suppressionmaterial 109 to be thinned above the conductive line 103-1. In someembodiments, the recess in the voltage suppression material 109 may beformed by RIE or laser ablation.

FIG. 39 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 228 subsequent toforming further conductive lines 103-1 and 103-2 on the assembly 226(FIG. 38). In some embodiments, conventional package processingtechniques may be used to form the additional conductive lines 103,including deposition of a seed layer, deposition of a photoresist,exposure and development of the photoresist, electroplating of theconductive lines 103, then removal of the photoresist and seed layer.

FIG. 40 is a side, cross-sectional view of an assembly 230 subsequent todepositing additional dielectric material 198 (e.g., another layer ofdielectric material 198) on the assembly 228 (FIG. 39), and formingconductive vias 105-1 and 105-2 and conductive contacts 199-1 and 199-2in contact with the conductive vias 105-1 and 105-2, respectively. Thefabrication of the conductive vias 105 and the conductive contacts 199of the assembly 230 may take the form of any of the embodimentsdiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 34-35. The resulting assembly230 may take the form of the ESDP structure 107 of FIG. 26.

The IC structures 100, IC assemblies 150, IC package supports 168,and/or ESDP structures 107 disclosed herein may include, or may beincluded in, any suitable electronic component. FIGS. 41-43 illustratevarious examples of apparatuses that may include, or be included in, anyof the IC structures 100, IC assemblies 150, IC package supports 168,and/or ESDP structures 107 disclosed herein, as appropriate.

FIG. 41 is a top view of a wafer 1500 and dies 1502 that may include oneor more IC structures 100, or may be included in any suitable ones ofthe IC assemblies 150, IC package supports 168, and/or ESDP structures107 disclosed herein. The wafer 1500 may be composed of a material(e.g., a semiconductor material) and may include one or more dies 1502having structures formed on a surface of the wafer 1500. Each of thedies 1502 may be a repeating unit of a product that includes anysuitable circuitry. After the fabrication of the product is complete,the wafer 1500 may undergo a singulation process in which the dies 1502are separated from one another to provide discrete “chips” of thesemiconductor product. In some embodiments, the die 1502 may include anyof the IC structures 100 disclosed herein (e.g., the material of thewafer 1500 may be part of the substrate 102). In some embodiments, thewafer 1500 or the die 1502 may include a memory device (e.g., a randomaccess memory (RAM) device, such as a static RAM (SRAM) device, amagnetic RAM (MRAM) device, a resistive RAM (RRAM) device, aconductive-bridging RAM (CBRAM) device, etc.), a logic device (e.g., anAND, OR, NAND, or NOR gate), or any other suitable circuit element.Multiple ones of these devices may be combined on a single die 1502. Forexample, a memory array formed by multiple memory devices may be formedon a same die 1502 as a processing device (e.g., the processing device1802 of FIG. 43) or other logic that is configured to store informationin the memory devices or execute instructions stored in the memoryarray.

FIG. 42 is a side, cross-sectional view of an IC device assembly 1700that may include any of the IC structures 100, IC assemblies 150, ICpackage supports 168, and/or ESDP structures 107 disclosed herein. TheIC device assembly 1700 includes a number of components disposed on acircuit board 1702 (which may be, e.g., a motherboard). The IC deviceassembly 1700 includes components disposed on a first face 1740 of thecircuit board 1702 and an opposing second face 1742 of the circuit board1702; generally, components may be disposed on one or both faces 1740and 1742. Any of the IC packages discussed below with reference to theIC device assembly 1700 may take the form of any of the IC assemblies150, IC package supports 168, and/or ESDP structures 107 disclosedherein.

In some embodiments, the circuit board 1702 may be a PCB includingmultiple metal layers separated from one another by layers of organicdielectric material and interconnected by electrically conductive vias.Any one or more of the metal layers may be formed in a desired circuitpattern to route electrical signals (optionally in conjunction withother metal layers) between the components coupled to the circuit board1702. In other embodiments, the circuit board 1702 may be a non-PCBsubstrate.

The IC device assembly 1700 illustrated in FIG. 42 includes apackage-on-interposer structure 1736 coupled to the first face 1740 ofthe circuit board 1702 by coupling components 1716. The couplingcomponents 1716 may electrically and mechanically couple thepackage-on-interposer structure 1736 to the circuit board 1702, and mayinclude solder balls (as shown in FIG. 42), male and female portions ofa socket, an adhesive, an underfill material, and/or any other suitableelectrical and/or mechanical coupling structure.

The package-on-interposer structure 1736 may include an IC package 1720coupled to an package interposer 1704 by coupling components 1718. Thecoupling components 1718 may take any suitable form for the application,such as the forms discussed above with reference to the couplingcomponents 1716. Although a single IC package 1720 is shown in FIG. 42,multiple IC packages may be coupled to the package interposer 1704;indeed, additional interposers may be coupled to the package interposer1704. The package interposer 1704 may provide an intervening substrateused to bridge the circuit board 1702 and the IC package 1720.Generally, the package interposer 1704 may spread a connection to awider pitch or reroute a connection to a different connection. Forexample, the package interposer 1704 may couple the IC package 1720 to aset of ball grid array conductive contacts of the coupling components1716 for coupling to the circuit board 1702. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 42, the IC package 1720 and the circuit board 1702are attached to opposing sides of the package interposer 1704; in otherembodiments, the IC package 1720 and the circuit board 1702 may beattached to a same side of the package interposer 1704. In someembodiments, three or more components may be interconnected by way ofthe package interposer 1704.

In some embodiments, the package interposer 1704 may be formed as a PCB,including multiple metal layers separated from one another by layers ofdielectric material and interconnected by electrically conductive vias.In some embodiments, the package interposer 1704 may be formed of anepoxy resin, a fiberglass-reinforced epoxy resin, an epoxy resin withinorganic fillers, a ceramic material, or a polymer material such aspolyimide. In some embodiments, the package interposer 1704 may beformed of alternate rigid or flexible materials that may include thesame materials described above for use in a semiconductor substrate,such as silicon, germanium, and other group III-V and group IVmaterials. The package interposer 1704 may include metal lines 1710 andvias 1708, including but not limited to TSVs 1706. The packageinterposer 1704 may further include embedded devices 1714, includingboth passive and active devices. Such devices may include, but are notlimited to, capacitors, decoupling capacitors, resistors, inductors,fuses, diodes, transformers, sensors, electrostatic discharge (ESD)devices, and memory devices. More complex devices such as RF devices,power amplifiers (PAs), power management devices, antennas, arrays,sensors, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices may also beformed on the package interposer 1704. The package-on-interposerstructure 1736 may take the form of any of the package-on-interposerstructures known in the art.

The IC device assembly 1700 may include an IC package 1724 coupled tothe first face 1740 of the circuit board 1702 by coupling components1722. The coupling components 1722 may take the form of any of theembodiments discussed above with reference to the coupling components1716, and the IC package 1724 may take the form of any of theembodiments discussed above with reference to the IC package 1720.

The IC device assembly 1700 illustrated in FIG. 42 includes apackage-on-package structure 1734 coupled to the second face 1742 of thecircuit board 1702 by coupling components 1728. The package-on-packagestructure 1734 may include an IC package 1726 and an IC package 1732coupled together by coupling components 1730 such that the IC package1726 is disposed between the circuit board 1702 and the IC package 1732.The coupling components 1728 and 1730 may take the form of any of theembodiments of the coupling components 1716 discussed above, and the ICpackages 1726 and 1732 may take the form of any of the embodiments ofthe IC package 1720 discussed above. The package-on-package structure1734 may be configured in accordance with any of the package-on-packagestructures known in the art.

FIG. 43 is a block diagram of an example electrical device 1800 that mayinclude one or more IC structures 100, IC assemblies 150, IC packagesupports 168, and/or ESDP structures 107, in accordance with any of theembodiments disclosed herein. For example, any suitable ones of thecomponents of the electrical device 1800 may include one or more of theIC device assemblies 1700 or dies 1502 disclosed herein. A number ofcomponents are illustrated in FIG. 43 as included in the electricaldevice 1800, but any one or more of these components may be omitted orduplicated, as suitable for the application. In some embodiments, someor all of the components included in the electrical device 1800 may beattached to one or more motherboards. In some embodiments, some or allof these components are fabricated onto a single system-on-a-chip (SoC)die.

Additionally, in various embodiments, the electrical device 1800 may notinclude one or more of the components illustrated in FIG. 43, but theelectrical device 1800 may include interface circuitry for coupling tothe one or more components. For example, the electrical device 1800 maynot include a display device 1806, but may include display deviceinterface circuitry (e.g., a connector and driver circuitry) to which adisplay device 1806 may be coupled. In another set of examples, theelectrical device 1800 may not include an audio input device 1824 or anaudio output device 1808, but may include audio input or output deviceinterface circuitry (e.g., connectors and supporting circuitry) to whichan audio input device 1824 or audio output device 1808 may be coupled.

The electrical device 1800 may include a processing device 1802 (e.g.,one or more processing devices). As used herein, the term “processingdevice” or “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a devicethat processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transformthat electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored inregisters and/or memory. The processing device 1802 may include one ormore digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific ICs (ASICs),central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs),cryptoprocessors (specialized processors that execute cryptographicalgorithms within hardware), server processors, or any other suitableprocessing devices. The electrical device 1800 may include a memory1804, which may itself include one or more memory devices such asvolatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), nonvolatilememory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, solid state memory,and/or a hard drive. In some embodiments, the memory 1804 may includememory that shares a die with the processing device 1802. This memorymay be used as cache memory and may include embedded dynamic randomaccess memory (eDRAM) or spin transfer torque magnetic random accessmemory (STT-MRAM).

In some embodiments, the electrical device 1800 may includecommunication circuitry 1812. For example, the communication circuitry1812 may be configured for managing wireless communications for thetransfer of data to and from the electrical device 1800. The term“wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits,devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc.,that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagneticradiation through a nonsolid medium. The term does not imply that theassociated devices do not contain any wires, although in someembodiments they might not.

The communication circuitry 1812 may implement any of a number ofwireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to Institutefor Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standards including Wi-Fi(IEEE 802.11 family), IEEE 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005Amendment), Long-Term Evolution (LTE) project along with any amendments,updates, and/or revisions (e.g., advanced LTE project, ultra mobilebroadband (UMB) project (also referred to as “3GPP2”), etc.). IEEE802.16 compatible Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) networks are generallyreferred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access, which is a certification mark forproducts that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE802.16 standards. The communication circuitry 1812 may operate inaccordance with a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (E-HSPA), or LTEnetwork. The communication circuitry 1812 may operate in accordance withEnhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network(GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or EvolvedUTRAN (E-UTRAN). The communication circuitry 1812 may operate inaccordance with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time DivisionMultiple Access (TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications(DECT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), and derivatives thereof, aswell as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G,and beyond. The communication circuitry 1812 may operate in accordancewith other wireless protocols in other embodiments. The electricaldevice 1800 may include an antenna 1822 to facilitate wirelesscommunications and/or to receive other wireless communications (such asAM or FM radio transmissions). The communication circuitry 1812 mayinclude any of the IC structures 100, IC assemblies 150, IC packagesupports 168, and/or ESDP structures 107 disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, the communication circuitry 1812 may manage wiredcommunications, such as electrical, optical, or any other suitablecommunication protocols (e.g., the Ethernet). As noted above, thecommunication circuitry 1812 may include multiple communication chips.For instance, a first communication circuitry 1812 may be dedicated toshorter-range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and asecond communication circuitry 1812 may be dedicated to longer-rangewireless communications such as global positioning system (GPS), EDGE,GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, EV-DO, or others. In some embodiments, a firstcommunication circuitry 1812 may be dedicated to wirelesscommunications, and a second communication circuitry 1812 may bededicated to wired communications.

The electrical device 1800 may include battery/power circuitry 1814. Thebattery/power circuitry 1814 may include one or more energy storagedevices (e.g., batteries or capacitors) and/or circuitry for couplingcomponents of the electrical device 1800 to an energy source separatefrom the electrical device 1800 (e.g., AC line power).

The electrical device 1800 may include a display device 1806 (orcorresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The displaydevice 1806 may include any visual indicators, such as a heads-updisplay, a computer monitor, a projector, a touchscreen display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode display, or a flatpanel display.

The electrical device 1800 may include an audio output device 1808 (orcorresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The audio outputdevice 1808 may include any device that generates an audible indicator,such as speakers, headsets, or earbuds.

The electrical device 1800 may include an audio input device 1824 (orcorresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The audio inputdevice 1824 may include any device that generates a signalrepresentative of a sound, such as microphones, microphone arrays, ordigital instruments (e.g., instruments having a musical instrumentdigital interface (MIDI) output).

The electrical device 1800 may include a GPS device 1818 (orcorresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). The GPS device1818 may be in communication with a satellite-based system and mayreceive a location of the electrical device 1800, as known in the art.

The electrical device 1800 may include an other output device 1810 (orcorresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). Examples of theother output device 1810 may include an audio codec, a video codec, aprinter, a wired or wireless transmitter for providing information toother devices, or an additional storage device.

The electrical device 1800 may include an other input device 1820 (orcorresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above). Examples of theother input device 1820 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, acompass, an image capture device, a keyboard, a cursor control devicesuch as a mouse, a stylus, a touchpad, a bar code reader, a QuickResponse (QR) code reader, any sensor, or a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) reader.

The electrical device 1800 may have any desired form factor, such as ahandheld or mobile electrical device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone,a mobile internet device, a music player, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a netbook computer, an ultrabook computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), an ultra mobile personal computer, etc.), a desktopelectrical device, a server device or other networked computingcomponent, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, anentertainment control unit, a vehicle control unit, a digital camera, adigital video recorder, or a wearable electrical device. In someembodiments, the electrical device 1800 may be any other electronicdevice that processes data.

The following paragraphs provide various examples of the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

Example 1 is an integrated circuit (IC) package support, including: afirst conductive structure in a dielectric material; a second conductivestructure in the dielectric material; and a material in contact with thefirst conductive structure and the second conductive structure, whereinthe material includes a polymer, and the material is different from thedielectric material.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and furtherspecifies that the dielectric material includes an organic material.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-2, andfurther specifies that the material includes a polymer voltagesuppression material.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-3, andfurther specifies that the material provides a structure, electricallybetween the first conductive structure and the second conductivestructure, that has a trigger voltage between 2 volts and 10 volts.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure are in a same layer of the dielectric material.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of Example 5, and furtherspecifies that the material is at least partially coplanar with thefirst conductive structure and the second conductive structure.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 5-6, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure extends at leastpartially around the second conductive structure.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 5-7, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure extends entirelyaround the second conductive structure.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 5-8, andfurther specifies that a distance between the first conductive structureand the second conductive structure in a region of the material is lessthan a distance between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure in a region away from the material.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 5-9, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the second conductive structure.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 5-10, andfurther includes: a third conductive structure, wherein the firstconductive structure is between the first conductive structure and thesecond conductive structure.

Example 12 includes the subject matter of Example 11, and furtherspecifies that a portion of the material is in contact with the firstconductive structure and the third conductive structure.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 11-12, andfurther specifies that a distance between the first conductive structureand the third conductive structure in a region of the portion of thematerial is less than a distance between the first conductive structureand the third conductive structure in a region away from the portion ofthe material.

Example 14 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 11-13, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the third conductive structure.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure are in different layers of the dielectric material.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of Example 15, and furtherspecifies that a distance between the first conductive structure and thesecond conductive structure in a region of the material is less than adistance between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure in a region away from the material.

Example 17 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 15-16, andfurther specifies that a width of the first conductive structure in aregion of the material is less than a width of the first conductivestructure in a region away from the material.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 15-17, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the second conductive structure.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-18, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aconductive line and the second conductive structure includes aconductive line.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-19, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure is a signalstructure and the second conductive structure is a ground structure.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-19, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure is a groundstructure and the second conductive structure is a signal structure.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-21, andfurther includes: a third conductive structure in a dielectric material;and a fourth conductive structure in the dielectric material; andwherein a portion of the material is also in contact with the thirdconductive structure and the fourth conductive structure.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-22, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is a package substrate.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-22, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is an interposer.

Example 25 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-22, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is a bridge.

Example 26 is an integrated circuit (IC) package, including a die and anIC package support coupled to the die, wherein the IC package supportincludes: a first conductive structure in a dielectric material; asecond conductive structure in the dielectric material; and a materialin contact with the first conductive structure and the second conductivestructure, wherein the material provides a structure, electricallybetween the first conductive structure and the second conductivestructure, that has a trigger voltage between 2 volts and 10 volts, andthe material is different from the dielectric material.

Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 26, and furtherspecifies that the die is coupled to the IC package support by solder.

Example 28 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-27, andfurther specifies that the die includes a diode.

Example 29 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-28, andfurther includes: a diode coupled to the IC package support.

Example 30 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-29, andfurther specifies that the dielectric material includes an organicmaterial.

Example 31 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-30, andfurther specifies that the material includes a polymer voltagesuppression material.

Example 32 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-31, andfurther includes: a surface dielectric material between the firstconductive structure and the die.

Example 33 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-32, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure are in a same layer of the dielectric material.

Example 34 includes the subject matter of Example 33, and furtherspecifies that the material is at least partially coplanar with thefirst conductive structure and the second conductive structure.

Example 35 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 33-34, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure extends at leastpartially around the second conductive structure.

Example 36 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 33-35, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure extends entirelyaround the second conductive structure.

Example 37 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 33-36, andfurther specifies that a distance between the first conductive structureand the second conductive structure in a region of the material is lessthan a distance between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure in a region away from the material.

Example 38 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 33-37, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the second conductive structure.

Example 39 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 33-38, andfurther specifies that the IC package support further includes: a thirdconductive structure, wherein the first conductive structure is betweenthe first conductive structure and the second conductive structure.

Example 40 includes the subject matter of Example 39, and furtherspecifies that a portion of the material is in contact with the firstconductive structure and the third conductive structure.

Example 41 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 39-40, andfurther specifies that a distance between the first conductive structureand the third conductive structure in a region of the portion of thematerial is less than a distance between the first conductive structureand the third conductive structure in a region away from the portion ofthe material.

Example 42 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 39-41, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the third conductive structure.

Example 43 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-42, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure are in different layers of the dielectric material.

Example 44 includes the subject matter of Example 43, and furtherspecifies that a distance between the first conductive structure and thesecond conductive structure in a region of the material is less than adistance between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure in a region away from the material.

Example 45 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 43-44, andfurther specifies that a width of the first conductive structure in aregion of the material is less than a width of the first conductivestructure in a region away from the material.

Example 46 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 43-45, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the second conductive structure.

Example 47 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-46, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aconductive line and the second conductive structure includes aconductive line.

Example 48 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-47, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure is a signalstructure and the second conductive structure is a ground structure.

Example 49 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-47, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure is a groundstructure and the second conductive structure is a signal structure.

Example 50 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-49, andfurther specifies that the IC package support further includes: a thirdconductive structure in a dielectric material; and a fourth conductivestructure in the dielectric material; and wherein a portion of thematerial is also in contact with the third conductive structure and thefourth conductive structure.

Example 51 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-50, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is a package substrate.

Example 52 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-50, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is an interposer.

Example 53 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 26-50, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is a bridge.

Example 54 includes the subject matter of Example 53, and furtherspecifies that the bridge is an embedded bridge, and the IC packagefurther includes a package substrate in which the bridge is embedded.

Example 55 is a computing device, including: an integrated circuit (IC)package including an IC package support, wherein the IC package supportincludes a first conductive structure, a second conductive structure, adielectric material between the first conductive structure and thesecond conductive structure in a region; and a material in contact withthe first conductive structure and the second conductive structure inanother region, wherein the material is different from the dielectricmaterial, the material acts as a dielectric material below a triggervoltage, and the material reversibly acts as a conductive material abovethe trigger voltage; and a circuit board coupled to the IC package.

Example 56 includes the subject matter of Example 55, and furtherspecifies that the IC package further includes a die coupled to the ICpackage support.

Example 57 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-56, andfurther specifies that the die is coupled to the IC package support bysolder.

Example 58 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 56-57, andfurther specifies that the die includes a diode.

Example 59 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-59, andfurther specifies that the IC package further includes a diode coupledto the IC package support.

Example 60 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-59, andfurther specifies that the dielectric material includes an organicmaterial.

Example 61 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-60, andfurther specifies that the material includes a polymer voltagesuppression material.

Example 62 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-61, andfurther includes: a surface dielectric material between the firstconductive structure and the die.

Example 63 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-62, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure are in a same layer of the dielectric material.

Example 64 includes the subject matter of Example 63, and furtherspecifies that the material is at least partially coplanar with thefirst conductive structure and the second conductive structure.

Example 65 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 63-64, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure extends at leastpartially around the second conductive structure.

Example 66 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 63-65, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure extends entirelyaround the second conductive structure.

Example 67 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 63-66, andfurther specifies that a distance between the first conductive structureand the second conductive structure in a region of the material is lessthan a distance between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure in a region away from the material.

Example 68 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 63-67, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the second conductive structure.

Example 69 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 63-68, andfurther specifies that the IC package support further includes: a thirdconductive structure, wherein the first conductive structure is betweenthe first conductive structure and the second conductive structure.

Example 70 includes the subject matter of Example 69, and furtherspecifies that a portion of the material is in contact with the firstconductive structure and the third conductive structure.

Example 71 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 69-70, andfurther specifies that a distance between the first conductive structureand the third conductive structure in a region of the portion of thematerial is less than a distance between the first conductive structureand the third conductive structure in a region away from the portion ofthe material.

Example 72 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 69-71, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the third conductive structure.

Example 73 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-62, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure are in different layers of the dielectric material.

Example 74 includes the subject matter of Example 73, and furtherspecifies that a distance between the first conductive structure and thesecond conductive structure in a region of the material is less than adistance between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure in a region away from the material.

Example 75 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 73-74, andfurther specifies that a width of the first conductive structure in aregion of the material is less than a width of the first conductivestructure in a region away from the material.

Example 76 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 73-75, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the second conductive structure.

Example 77 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-76, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure includes aconductive line and the second conductive structure includes aconductive line.

Example 78 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-77, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure is a signalstructure and the second conductive structure is a ground structure.

Example 79 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-77, andfurther specifies that the first conductive structure is a groundstructure and the second conductive structure is a signal structure.

Example 80 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-79, andfurther specifies that the IC package support further includes: a thirdconductive structure in a dielectric material; and a fourth conductivestructure in the dielectric material; and wherein a portion of thematerial is also in contact with the third conductive structure and thefourth conductive structure.

Example 81 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-80, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is a package substrate.

Example 82 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-80, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is an interposer.

Example 83 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-80, andfurther specifies that the IC package support is a bridge.

Example 84 includes the subject matter of Example 83, and furtherspecifies that the bridge is an embedded bridge, and the IC packagefurther includes a package substrate in which the bridge is embedded.

Example 85 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-84, andfurther specifies that the circuit board is a motherboard.

Example 86 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-85, andfurther includes: an antenna electrically coupled to the circuit board.

Example 87 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-86, andfurther includes: a display device electrically coupled to the circuitboard.

Example 88 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-87, andfurther specifies that the computing device is a handheld computingdevice.

Example 89 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-87, andfurther specifies that the computing device is a wearable computingdevice.

Example 90 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 55-87, andfurther specifies that the computing device is a server computingdevice.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An integrated circuit (IC) package support,comprising: a plurality of interconnect layers in a dielectric material;a first conductive structure in the dielectric material; a secondconductive structure in the dielectric material; and a material incontact with the first conductive structure and the second conductivestructure, wherein: the package support is configured to mechanicallyand electrically couple with a semiconductor IC die on at least one oftwo opposing surfaces of the package support, the material includes apolymer different from the dielectric material, the first conductivestructure includes a protrusion that extends toward the secondconductive structure in a region of the material proximate to the firstconductive structure and the second conductive structure, and theprotrusion does not touch the second conductive structure.
 2. The ICpackage support of claim 1, wherein the dielectric material includes anorganic material.
 3. The IC package support of claim 1, wherein thematerial includes a polymer voltage suppression material.
 4. The ICpackage support of claim 1, wherein the material provides a structure,electrically between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure, that has a trigger voltage between 2 volts and 10volts.
 5. The IC package support of claim 1, wherein the firstconductive structure and the second conductive structure are in a samelayer of the dielectric material.
 6. The IC package support of claim 5,wherein the material is at least partially coplanar with the firstconductive structure and the second conductive structure.
 7. The ICpackage support of claim 5, wherein a distance between the firstconductive structure and the second conductive structure in a region ofthe material is less than a distance between the first conductivestructure and the second conductive structure in a region away from thematerial.
 8. The IC package support of claim 1, wherein the firstconductive structure and the second conductive structure are indifferent layers of the dielectric material.
 9. The IC package supportof claim 8, wherein a distance between the first conductive structureand the second conductive structure in a region of the material is lessthan a distance between the first conductive structure and the secondconductive structure in a region away from the material.
 10. The ICpackage support of claim 8, wherein a width of the first conductivestructure in a region of the material is less than a width of the firstconductive structure in a region away from the material.
 11. The ICpackage support of claim 1, wherein the IC package support is a packagesubstrate, an interposer, or a bridge.
 12. An integrated circuit (IC)package, comprising: a die; and an IC package support electrically andmechanically coupled to the die on at least one of two opposing surfacesof the package support, wherein the IC package support includes: aplurality of interconnect layers in a dielectric material; a firstconductive structure in the dielectric material; a second conductivestructure in the dielectric material; and a material in contact with thefirst conductive structure and the second conductive structure, wherein:the material provides a structure, electrically between the firstconductive structure and the second conductive structure, that has atrigger voltage between 2 volts and 10 volts, the material is differentfrom the dielectric material, the first conductive structure includes aprotrusion that extends toward the second conductive structure in aregion of the material proximate to the first conductive structure andthe second conductive structure, and the protrusion does not touch thesecond conductive structure.
 13. The IC package of claim 12, wherein thedie is coupled to the IC package support by solder.
 14. The IC packageof claim 12, wherein the first conductive structure includes aconductive line and the second conductive structure includes aconductive line.
 15. The IC package of claim 12, wherein the firstconductive structure is a signal structure and the second conductivestructure is a ground structure.
 16. A computing device, comprising: anintegrated circuit (IC) package including an IC package support, whereinthe IC package support includes a plurality of interconnect layers in adielectric material, wherein the package support is configured tomechanically and electrically couple with an IC die on at least one oftwo opposing surfaces of the package support, a first conductivestructure, a second conductive structure, the dielectric materialbetween the first conductive structure and the second conductivestructure in a region; and a material in contact with the firstconductive structure and the second conductive structure in anotherregion, wherein the material is different from the dielectric material,the material acts as an insulator below a trigger voltage, the materialreversibly acts as a conductor above the trigger voltage, the firstconductive structure includes a protrusion that extends toward thesecond conductive structure in the another region of the materialproximate to the first conductive structure and the second conductivestructure, and the protrusion does not touch the second conductivestructure; and a circuit board coupled to the IC package.
 17. Thecomputing device of claim 16, wherein the circuit board is amotherboard.
 18. The computing device of claim 16, further comprising:an antenna electrically coupled to the circuit board, or a displaydevice electrically coupled to the circuit board.
 19. The computingdevice of claim 16, wherein the computing device is a handheld computingdevice, a wearable computing device, or a server computing device.